>> hello and welcome to "the journal." >> thanks for being with us. coming up on the show -- >> no solution. egypt's president says that efforts to in the diplomatic crisis have failed. >> the meeting off. barack obama cancels meeting with vladimir putin. >> and the plight of african american -- the plight of afghan refugees.

>> egypt felt military led government says diplomatic efforts to resolve the political crisis have failed. following efforts by the european union and the united arab intimates to defuse the crisis, and the u.s. are among the latest to try to break the deadlock. >> egypt has experienced renewed violence and turmoil over the last month since the military overthrew mohamed morsi, the leader of the muslim brotherhood. the political crisis in the arab world's largest nation is at a deadly new phase. >> the interior prime minister cannot be swayed even by john mccain and lindsey graham. the report blames the contraction on the muslim brotherhood. that is the official version.

not everyone agrees. >> the negotiations failed because neither side was ready to compromise. everyone should be able to compromise for the country. only foreign interest will benefit if we fail. >> he hopes that egypt can move to election soon. and that the gaps can be peacefully closed without any more damage to the country. it is unclear whether all international mediation efforts are off. europe is keeping an open mind on the issue. a spokesman for a foreign-policy court nader catherine ashton says that the e u is dedicated to getting egypt back on the path to democracy. but egypt's minister is running out of patience. he demanded that supporters of morsi leave their protest camps. >> once again we ask the pro-

morsi emmons traders to leave their camps at wants. -- demonstrators to leave their camps at once. >> morsi supporters show no sign of backing down. >> there is renewed political turmoil in tunisia as well. the largest since the assassination cents -- the assassination of an opposition member of parliament. tens of thousands took to the streets to demand the resignation of the islamist led government. >> one of the country for largest labor unions has called a strike to put further pressure on the government. >> in the country where the arab spring began, protesters are back on the streets. once again, the goal is regime change. tens of thousands demonstrated in the capital of tunis on tuesday night.

highlights -- economic stagnation. >> the tunisian people are protesting against the practices come as this government of bribery, of assassinations. it is a sham. the only ones with authority to rule them is the people themselves. >> we need to let the people breathe a little. this is what we demand. we are choking. we have been suffocating for two years. >> unrest has been simmering in tunisia since the 2011 revolution. it has come to a head now because of the death of this man, and opposition leader, killed by islamist extremists. the protesters march to the national constituency in december. some are calling for it to be

dissolved. instead the interim parliament has suspended its work. >> like all tunisians, i don't want to see any more terrorist attacks. as president of the constituent assembly, i am assuming responsibility and ending our work until a new dialogue begins. >> work would not resume until the government and the opposition had face to face talks to end the crisis. >> u.s. president barack obama has canceled a meeting with russian president vladimir put in next month. this follows comments that would made about obama in a television interview on tuesday. >> obama said he was disappointed by russia granting asylum to snowden and said his

decision reflected growing challenges between washington and moscow. the u.s. president said he would the attending the g between -- the g 20 summit in saint readers for as planned. -- st. petersburg as planned. this retaliation from washington was expected, so obama's cancellation does not come as a big surprise, does it? >> no, it was not a surprise. it was more that the obama administration has done everything in their power to prevent russia from giving asylum to snowden. obama personally called to discuss this issue. but potent regards him -- clinton regatta missile the president and that is why -- putin regards obama as a weak president and that is why he wants to send the signal.

>> just how damaging is this snowden situation for these two world powers? >> well, the snowden issue places a burden on the relationship between the u.s. and russia. they both know they depend on each other when it comes to arms control or the situation in syria. the two governments will continue to work together. stopping the meeting on friday -- the secretary of state john kerry and chuck hagel will come together with their russian counterparts and talk about the situation in iran and afghanistan. i think they will also talk about edwards snowden, but i do not expect any progress. >> from washington, thank you very much. >> the german government has gone on the offensive here in europe. the center-right coalition says

cooperation between german intelligence services whose back to when the opposition social democrats were in power. >> general elections are coming up here in germany next month. voters are angered i the allegations that the nsa targeted the massive spying program and the german government was complicit. the government is fighting back. >> germany's foreign intelligence service, ded, uses its installation in bavaria to survey the world. some of that information is shared with the national security agency from the u.s.. in parliament, a scandal. the social democrats want access. and it is the center-right that says that it was these social democrats who came up with the information sharing all they were in government.

>> this agreement is based on a policy decision from the former chancellor and chief of staff. >> under chancellor gerhard schroeder, he was responsible for cord knitting the agencies. today he serves as the chief of a parliamentary group. this is seen as a campaign issue ahead of the general election next month. it cracks -- >> it is total hypocrisy for the spd to be outraged at the cooperation between the nsa and the dd. >> they say that the government is trying to dodge the implications. >> germany is one of the top arms exporters in the world and 2013 is expected to be a record year.

>> but business remains under very tight scrutiny. under the constitution, no military equipment is supposed to be sold in countries where the weapons could be used to violate human rights. >> the opposition says the government has ignored this moral standard, especially in the gulf region. >> germany's battle tank is an export. it can be used in urban environments and open terrain, as demonstrated in a recent training exercise. gulf states have been especially interested in buying the german tank. there are orders way out into the rest of this year, especially in qatar. the opposition parties are up in arms. >> there are dictatorships or even worse.

saudi arabia is worse than qatar. this is a region in crisis where the arab spring has been brutally suppressed. >> the economics have defended the increase in military permits. they say that the applications are carefully considered. click there is not just one gulf states. -- >> there is not just one gulf state. very clear differentiations are made. we have to clearly decide based on the unique lyrical situation to -- political situation but everything on hold. >> the emirates are seen as important partners in the fight against terrorism. >> ailey has agreed to except 102 migrants stranded after malta refused to admit them. >> and oil tanker rescued the

migrants off the coast of libya on sunday night and try to bring them to multiperiod but maltese authorities said he should not -- they should be brought to libya, which is closer. meanwhile, firefighters have put out a massive fire at the international airport at the kenyon capital of nairobi. thousands of flights were diverted to other airports in the region. >> the fire started early wednesday in the immigration area of the air or. firefighters fought for five hours. officials have opened the airport for domestic flights and plan to resume some international flights on thursday. the japanese government says it is going to intervene to help tackle radioactive leaks from the fukushima nuclear power plant. >> on wednesday prime minister shinzo abe said the government

could not expect the nuclear power to deal with the problem by itself and is going to help. tons of radioactive water are leaking every day. >> one of the few surviving solar panel companies in the world is something shareholders will accept a radical rescue plan. creditors and banks have approved the plan, excepting that is a write-down and a massive capital reduction. >> shareholders could lose night -- could lose 95% of their shares. it is the only way for the company to survive against chinese exporters, they say. they agreed to a deal restricting chinese imports to europe. >> now let's get the report from the trading floor at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the better economic

performance, the reserve banks have a generous money supply. and the paradoxical situation appears now that an economic recovery may make prices sink. that is why it is wednesday, and the dax lost, despite the fact that goods makers presented robust reports. and in spite of the fact that industrial production in germany increased more than economists had anticipated. >> list take a quick look at how financial markets or form today. the dax fell most weight five percent. meanwhile in the u.s., the dow jones is trading, down .25% and the euro is that $1.35. click still ahead -- >> still

ahead, after the fast, the feast for thousands of muslims. >> that is next. >> welcome back. well, the political situation in egypt is uncertain. ever since hosni mubarak was toppled more than two years ago, the economy has declined and there is increased violence. >> the situation is particularly bad in the sinai region where nomadic bedouin tribes are struggling. groups are increasingly bring on refugees elsewhere in africa, the thing up and capturing refugees and demanding ransoms. >> you may find some images in this report disturbing. >> he was imprisoned under the

mubarak regime for his political views. in jail, he fell dangerously ill. the refugees who shared his cell, they hammered away at the door until guards took him away for medical care. he credits those refugees for saving his life. today, his wife and other refugees are experiencing true hell. in northern cairo -- here, a refugee tells her story. she was kidnapped along with her sister in sudan and brought to egypt. they were traded from gang to gang and sent across the red sea to the sinai peninsula where they were kept risen or like -- prisoner like animals. >> we were tortured. they tied us up and left this out in the sun all day.

they told our parents to terrify them as well so they would pay ransom to free us. >> she shows her scars. >> we have been through so much. i was raped over and over again. >> many african refugees have headed to israel. many are taken captive and held at the border instead. many want nothing to do with kidnappers and human traffickers. sinai is normally a high- security area. despite these precautions, the kidnappers still get around. hamdi comes to us and shows us

pictures of the the m's, beaten, fingers hacked off, one by one, until the ransom is paid. -- shows us pictures of the vict ims. >> they were beaten. they had no morality, no heart, no sense. how is it, to make them cry on the telephone and all the while hear her cries? >> hamdi says authorities are covering up the crimes. police, army, and intelligence services. >> they need to get past 20 points. it seems to me someone paid money, and officer, to give them permission. >> her parents paid the ransom

and the kidnappers took her to the police. but then she was thrown in jail and abused there, too. international organizations say there is no authority. except for hamdi, she is pretty much on her own. >> almost a quarter of the world's ovulation is getting ready to begin celebrations. -- world's population is ready to begin celebrations. >> that is because remedy and ends on sunday. -- ramadan ends on sunday. >> and celebration is big business. >> it is a time for celebration. young pakistani women treat themselves to new clothes and armbands. jewelry is traditional. so our henna drawings on hands

and arms. it means good business. quick so many customers in the last day of drama dan, we have to work through the night -- ramadan, we have to work through the night. and it drawings are traditional -- henna drawings are traditional. you have to get them done. >> big business. costs means everybody's looking for a bargain. >> it does not matter how much you work. you have to look for bargains. >> with so many shoppers, security is high. police have ramped up security measures to make sure people can enjoy muslim -- islam's biggest festival. >> a tiny island in the

mediterranean sea is rocking relations between britain and spain. >> it is the territory of the altar which happens to be in spain, but which has been part of the british empire for centuries. >> the latest flareup started with border controls and seems to have settled down -- for now at least. >> native gibraltar arian's -- to brault or-- gibraltarians have british sovereignty. increased order checks mean that visitors to gibraltar have had to wait for hours in the summer heat. spain is including the introduction of a 50 euro toll for cold -- for crossing the border. that would affect thousands of people who travel in and out every day. >> i cannot pay the fee, so i cannot cross the border.

>> tensions rose after gibraltar dropped 70 concrete blocks into the sea to create a reef. spain says that was a deliberate attempt to disrupt spanish fishing, an allegation gibraltar denies. gibraltar has accused spain of using the scandal to deflect attention from the scandal surrounding prime minister mariano rajoy. talks will go ahead as the two countries try to resolve the issue. >> written will always stand up for the people of -- britain will always stand up for the people of gibraltar. >> it is the latest of many disputes in the hundreds of years and spain ceded the territory to britain. >> the summer weather has gone from blistering heat wave to thunderstorms. strong winds and hail stones

into cars and tore down trees in central germany. >> thousands of trains were delayed and some had to be canceled outright. for those who could not make it home on time, the extreme weather made for some interesting storm watching. well, vampires are huge now days, as you may have learned from all the films and books coming out. heartthrobs have legions of teenage girls pining for bloodsucking romance. traditionally vampires were from transylvania, an area that was part of romania. >> it turns out the nightmarish creatures that drain the life of their victims are also from further north. very creepy graves have recently been foun in southern poland, thought to date back to the 16th century.

and what is inside the graves is the stuff of our stories. [laughter] >> these bloodthirsty looking young ladies from the mining town of gliwice claim to be in league with dark powers. they are inspired by a recent archaeological study -- discovery in the town. >> it is nice that something is finally happening in gliwice. even national geographic has written about the fight. the whole world is talking about the vampires of gliwice. i think it is cool. >> this is one of these skeletons. experts immediately notice the missing head. as if to make sure that the owner would not be returning from the grave. 15 gravesites are a lot. but did the people here really believe in bloodsucking demons? >> yes. if they were buried like that,

people must have believed that they were capable of all sorts of evil and he could even continue after death. they cut off the head, so they could not get up again and walk off. >> it is really fun to be able to be so frightening. >> that is a point of view that he probably would not share. these vampires are more likely to have been social outcasts than undead bloodsuckers. it is true that once one was considered a vampire one social acceptance could plummet rapidly in life and in death. >> they have been reading a lot of specialist literature. >> modern-day vampires are not fooling around. city authorities decided to use the skeleton find to launch a blood donation drive and here is the latest victim.

>> vampires? two of my husbands were real bloodsuckers, so i know all about that. >> most sessions are not so entertaining, but the combination of old bones and modern-day dracula seems to be scaring up interest. >> looks like good fun by day, but i would not be hanging around the cemetery. >> that is all from us for now. >> more news for you at the top of the hour. stay with us.

>> the headlines, washington takes a new plunge. russia's asylum of edward snowden. clearing the streets of cairo after calling the political crisis a failure. is facing fears of a new